Prologue
When the United States elected a new President in the beginning of the year 2015, the superhero community experienced significant changes in their partnership with the government. The President first sanctioned new laws that limited superhero activities across the nation. That, of course, was not the end of it, and as months passed, everyone saw President Johnson's new side. He was a man who evidently hated superheroes, and he openly voiced this hatred through his actions. The International Association of Superheroes (IAS), and other superhero teams such as the Justice League, acted fast to protest the government's new laws. However, despite the support from various members of the senate and state governments, the President's orders took precedence. In just a few months, all superhero organizations were labelled as anti-government; superheroes became vigilantes, and all superhero work across the nation was deemed illegal.
The Anti-Vigilante law did not stop the superheroes from continuing their work to help people. To keep their families safe however, many superheroes sent their non-active loved ones out of the country, while they stayed in their cities to help the resistance. Many families moved up north to Canada, and a number moved to other continents. The superhero communities around the world had been most generous and understanding, and it made the transition easier for the refugees.
Since the government had always been privy to their locations, all superhero centres and team headquarters within the U.S. were abandoned. The active heroes formed underground bases as part of the resistance, and teams partnered up with each other to share resources. The resistance started strong, but soon their strength dwindled as public appreciation for supers declined, and law enforcers started to use excessive force. In the months following the creation of the Anti-Vigilante law, many supers around the country have been jailed, and worse, have disappeared.
To stop the last of the resistance, President Johnson started his plan to build a neutralizing field around his country. Any super within this field's boundaries would be unable to utilize their powers. With no super powers to deal with, he wouldn't have to worry about someone using their super strength or any other power to fight his government.
The neutralizing field first appeared within the borders of the eastern United States, which caught all the superheroes offhand. The appearance of the field also caused uproar with the citizens, not because of its neutralizing effect, but because it became clear that there was also a shield. No one was able to leave or enter the invisible wall. Its impermeability became a primary concern for all the citizens, and soon public support for the President dwindled.
Riots and rallies occurred, which all called for the expulsion of the President for violating the U.S. Charter and the Universal Human Rights. As a response to the chaos, the President declared Marshall Law. All travel in and out of the shielded borders was impossible, and the army was tasked with keeping the citizens in order, no matter what force was needed. The remaining citizens in the western United States scrambled to leave before the shield was expanded to cover cross country. But it was only a matter of time before the President succeeded in enveloping his country in a giant dome.
By the second week of July, every citizen in America was trapped inside an invisible dome. The supers were powerless, and the democratic government was no more.
To be Continued
